The Glow of Her Love
by glompcat
Summary: Han can't sleep at night unless his sleep chambers are pitch dark. Too bad Leia has decided to cover their home in her favorite flowers, which just so happen to be bioluminescent.


This fic is the result of a friend and I joking around on facebook messenger about Leia hoarding whatever candlewicks are left in the galaxy post Alderaan's destruction.

It is short and rough and unbetaed.

The domestic life of Han, Leia and baby Ben in this fic is inspired by (and fully compliant with) what we saw of their life in _Aftermath: Empire's End_ , and _Bloodline_. This fic also references the events of _Leia: Princess of Alderaan_.

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They were still trying to figure out where the furniture should go in their new apartment on Hosnian Prime, when Leia had wandered out onto the balcony to complain about how little outdoor space they had.

Han had come up behind her, wrapping her small frame in his long arms, and joked that it was plenty big. Big enough for her to have an entire garden out there, even.

Inspired by many wonderful memories of helping her mother with her garden as a girl, Leia had planned out a space for that garden immediately, and then headed off to a nursery to find flowers she and Ben could tend to together.

She had returned with a ton of orchards and…

Han stared at the bare seeming vines his wife had returned with, scratching his head. "Sweetheart, I think these may be dead." He reached out to pry open one of the tightly sealed pods on one of the vines, and was surprised by Leia's loud response.

"Don't! Han, stop, you'll kill it!"

Her shout had startled Ben as well, rising their infant son from his nap. The room filled with his angry screams, and Han backed away from the vine grabbing the baby and bouncing him in his arms. "It's ok Little Bandit, mommy's just temperamental sometimes. Nothing to worry about."

Leia gazed at her husband and son, and then let out a loud sigh that could have doubled as a growl. "Sorry. They're just… They're from Alderaan."

Han looked at the vines with a new respect, understanding why a threat to them was so dire from Leia's perspective. "...So uh, what're they called?"

His question earned him a grateful smile. "Candlewicks. They bloom only at night Han, and when they do… oh, they are just…" Leia's voice trailed off, lost in a memory of her home. He knew better than to disturb her, switching his attention instead to their son.

The two of them collapsed early that night, exhausted from setting up their new home. Yet it wasn't long into his sleep that Han was roused by a light shining directly into their bedroom window.

Used to life in space Han had grown fond of total darkness at night, and even the slightest light present in his sleeping space could throw off his entire circadian rhythm. He tried to find a position where he could ignore the light and simply go back to sleep, but it seemed escaping it was impossible. No matter where he turned there was that soft golden glow.

He stumbled out of bed, shuffling towards the source of the disturbance, and was shocked to find it was the damn vines. Just as Leia had told him they would the vines had bloomed at night, revealing large and unquestionably lovely flowers.

She just had failed to warn him the kriffing things were bioluminescent.

Of all the Alderaanian flower varieties Leia could have brought into the home, she had to go with the ones that kept him from sleeping? What, were these the only Alderaanian flowers anyone had managed to save?

The next morning Leia puttered about the apartment, humming happily as she set up her new garden. She seemed serene in a way he rarely saw her, and Han didn't know how to tell her the candlewicks had to go.

He decided to suck it up. It wouldn't be worth a fight, and besides... he liked the way the flowers made her smile.

Yet with time the vines seemed to multiply. Not content with those she had started with, Leia kept bringing home more and more of the damn things. Han knew by now that there were other Alderaanian flowers out there, hell they had a good enough selection of them in their own garden, but Leia truly seemed to love the candlewicks most of all. It wasn't until Ben was almost four years old that Han finally reached his limit with the fragging flowers.

The confrontation started when Han was already in a bad mood. He had taken Ben to work with him, hoping to show his young son some tricks of the ship racing trade, and the boy had complained the whole time long about how he'd rather be anywhere but there. When he had finally reached their apartment at the end of the work day and found Leia planting even _more_ of the glowing flowers, he acted before he could think better of it.

"Stang, Leia, really? More candlewicks? Why don't you just shine a lamp in my face at night and be done with it already?"

She rounded on him, fury flashing across her face. Oh no.

"Just what is that supposed to mean?"

"I… I just… oh come on Leia, I know they make you happy but… there has to be a limit, they're making it hard to sleep at night."

"Hard to sleep? You've slept just fine before, how will a few more candlewicks change that? Or is there some secret to your oh so vital beauty rest I somehow have missed?"

He groaned. "Leia, sweetheart, I love you but I need it to be darker at night."

"Darker? You need it to be darker? We have blackout curtains! You won't even let us have a light up chrono in there! Honestly Han, I can't tell you the number of times I've stubbed my toes trying to get to the 'fresher at night because of how dark it is in there."

"They shine in through the gaps in the curtains, and you know it."

She glared at him, and he could tell from the clench of her jaw that she was really set on this. Sure if he really wanted to he could argue her around, but was this really worth it?

"Look I just… Leia what is it about these flowers that you want so many of them? I mean, why don't we get more of those Malastrian Orchids you said were your mom's favorite?"

It was the mention of her mother that did it. Leia's glare melted away, replaced by an expression of absolute grief.

"My mom…" she whispered it, gazing at a currently dormant vine. "Han, that's why I love the candlewicks, don't you see?"

"No Leia, I don't. I mean… I know you said you had them at the Royal Palace, but in all your gardening stories your mom was always tending to orchards, wasn't she?"

She looked past him, to where Ben had gone to play with his toys and ignore his parents.

"I wish he could have known her."

Han moved to place an arm around her, squeezing her tight. There really wasn't anything to say to that, he just still didn't know what it had to with the flowers.

Sensing his mother's attention (and wasn't that something Han would never get used to) Ben ran over to her, tugging on her dress until she hoisted him up into her arms. Han's immense jealousy over their bond had faded as their son had learned to speak, but there were still times when it got to him that Ben and Leia had a connection in the Force he would never truly understand or share with either of them.

With Ben's little head tucked on her shoulder she reached out towards a candlewick vine, lovingly caressing a bud. "Do you want to hear a story about your grandmother, Ben?"

He nodded, wearing his best serious face, and for perhaps the thousandth time that week alone Han found himself thinking he'd never seen anything so perfect before in his life.

Leia smiled, lost in thought. "On Alderaan, when the eldest child of the queen or king reached the age of sixteen, they set out to fulfill three challenges to prove they were worthy of inheriting the throne."

Han was surprised by the story's start. Leia _never_ talked about stuff like that. Whenever Han would ask her about what sort of rituals she'd held to as a kid she'd brush him off, telling him none of it mattered anymore. The rituals had been rendered as meaningless as her title with the loss of her home.

"One of those challenges was a Challenge of Body, where the princess or prince had to prove they were physically strong." She paused, gathering her thoughts and containing her emotions. "When your grandmother was 16 she set out to climb a beautiful snow covered mountain, so she could claim her right to the crown."

She readjusted her grip on their son, turning her head slightly as she did to look into his dark brown eyes. "Angel, sometimes doing a thing is much easier than what comes after, the assent can be kinder than finding the way back home. It was just a short way into her climb back down the mountain that your grandmother fell, and rocks punctured her lungs and crushed her heart."

Ben's eyes widened in shock, Han was sure his had done the same. He had not been expecting this story's sudden violent turn.

"Because your grandmother was the planet's beloved princess, their ruler's only child, there had been people watching her climb, making sure she would be safe. When she fell they rushed her to help, and operated just in time. Your grandmother survived, but with new mechanical organs replacing those the mountain took, keeping her alive." She tickled Ben's chest, smiling wide as he laughed. "From that day on her chest glowed, just like a candlewick's bloom. Your grandmother had flowers blooming bright inside her."

She looked then at Han, the story as much for his benefit as their son's. "It was because of those implants she could not risk giving birth to a child, why she had to adopt. They were what brought me to her, a perfect symbol of family and love."

Han nodded, understanding. Right. He'd invest in a sleep mask then. It'd be worth it, to let Leia continue to bask in the light of her mother's love.

Leia set their son back on the floor, and moved closer to Han. The two of them were absorbed in each other now, "she would have approved of you, you know." Leia's voice was pitched low, as if this were a secret she dared not share. "She once told me she thought I should fall in love with a scoundrel." He kissed her then, threading his fingers through her braids as he did.

Neither of them noticed Ben tearing a candlewick out of its pot, throwing the vine over the balcony to the ground far below.

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I hope you enjoyed this silly little thing.

Since it is unbetaed I'd love to hear any edits you might have to suggest!


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